Advanced Nuclear Power - AREVA

Nuke NotesNuke NotesGERMANYNew Contracts for LargeValve Test Facility in KarlsteinIn May 2001, Wyle Laboratories (US)awarded Framatome ANP a contractto functionally test an nominal diameter24" (DN 600) gate-type mainsteam isolation valve under simulatedpipe break conditions. This gate valve,which is to be installed at the PWRunits of Ulchin 5&6 (Korea), is manufacturedby Edward Valves, Inc.(USA). The tests are intended todemonstrate that the valve will reliablyclose under the severe loading conditionsthat can arise in the event of amain steam line break. Anothercontract has been signed by theGerman Association of LargeATRIUM 10 Achieves WorldRecord BWR Fuel BurnupFramatome ANP's ATRIUM 10fuel for BWR has set a world recordfor burnup. Four ATRIUM 10 assembliesachieved a burnup of 71MWd/kg U (average for each fuelassembly) without a single defect aftereight cycles. The fuel assemblies wereloaded in a European nuclear plant aslead assemblies in 1992 and wererecently replaced during the 2001refueling outage.The achievement of this worldrecord burnup for BWR fuel is theresult of extensive research and developmentin which the reliability andperformance of the product line havebeen enhanced while adhering todesign limits. Ongoing development isfocused on further increasing the marginsto design limits and enhancingthe burnup potential. The combinedresult will be additional improvementin the reliability and operating economyof nuclear power plants. AdvancedATRIUM 10 fuel is scheduled for initialloading in 2002.A 28”(DN 700) valve being tested atFramatome ANP’s Large-Valve Test Facility1500 "SIPLUG Online 3"Modules for NeckarThe operator of Germany's NeckarNuclear Power Station has placed alarge order with Framatome ANP for avalve diagnostics system comprisingthe new "SIPLUG Online 3" measuringsystem module along with thestandard ADAM software for dataanalysis and trending. Over a period offour years, Framatome ANP will besupplying the two PWR units ofNeckar with a total of no less than1,500 SIPLUG modules.SIPLUG and ADAM represent afurther innovative milestone in thediagnosis of valve performance.Permanent installation of SIPLUG atthe valve's switchgear - either in theoutgoing power feeder leading to theactuator or directly in the drawoutmodule itself - provides a fully on-linesystem for active power monitoring.As soon as the valve is actuated, all relevantdata (such as active power, currentand voltage) is recorded andtransferred via a particularly noiseprooffield bus system to one or morePCs where they are analyzed using theADAM software. Plant personnel arePower Plant Operators (VGB) forexperiments to study sump cloggingby insulation debris. In these tests, ahigh-pressure jet of hot water measuring200 mm in diameter will bedirected on thermal insulation panelscontaining mineral wool to determinehow they disintegrate under water jetimpact loading.Both test programs will beperformed at Framatome ANP's LargeValve Test Facility (GAP) in Karlstein(Germany) - the only test facility inthe world that allows valves havinga nominal diameter of up to 28"(DN 700) to be tested under simulatedaccident conditions.thus kept informed at all times aboutthe performance of the valve and itsactuator and can then, if necessary,decide on exactly what kind of maintenancework will be needed - thuspaving the way for condition-basedmaintenance. Furthermore, the numberof individual valve and/or actuatortests is reduced, resulting in considerablesavings of both time and cost.Testing a SIPLUG Valve monitoring systemat KarlsteinOECD Participates inReactor Safety ResearchThe Organization for EconomicCooperation and Development(OECD) participates in the programof thermal-hydraulic investigations ofboron dilution scenarios at the PKL(Primärkreislauf) primary systemlarge-scale test facility ofFramatome ANP in Erlangen. This isthe only experimental program inGermany to be sponsored by theOECD. Half is financed by theGerman side (operators of GermanPWRs and Framatome ANP), and theother half by the other member statesof OECD’s Nuclear Energy Agency(NEA).The experimental program thatstarted in April of this year and willrun for more than two years willprovide a major contribution towardbetter understanding of the thermalhydraulicprocesses in hypotheticalaccident situations. The investigationsfocus on events concerning localChemical Decontaminationof Krümmel’s RHR SystemAt the German BWR plant, Krümmel,operated by the utility HamburgischeElektricitäts-Werke (HEW), all fourtrains of the residual heat removal(RHR) system - each of which has avolume totaling around 30 m 3 - werechemically decontaminated during thisyear's refueling outage. In talkingabout the decon project, Hans-JürgenRokita, head of mechanical systemmaintenance labeled it "... great work,many thanks ..." and Dr. GüntherHallfarth, head of health physics, said"... the results are outstanding ..."Thanks to the optimal combinationof Framatome ANP's mobiledecontamination apparatus AMDA ®with the CORD ® process (chemicaloxidation reduction decontamination),exceptionally high decontaminationParticipants from the OECD/NEA member states at their kick-off meeting in Erlangen,May 2001boron dilution in the primary systemsof PWRs and possible impacts on corebehavior. Based on the results, theprescribed reactor operating modesafter postulated accidents can beexperimentally validated and furtheroptimized in terms of safety-relatedaspects.The PKL test facility, which ispart of Framatome ANP's TechnicalCenter, is the only system test facilityfactors were achieved. In the end,fewer CORD cleaning cycles wereactually needed to do the job than hadoriginally been planned. As a result ofthis as well as the extremely hard workput in by the decon team, the projectwas completed three days ahead ofschedule.Service Factorsfor SiemensBWR Plantsin 2000in operation in Europe, featuring amockup of western-design pressurizedwater reactors in an original heightscale. The facility comprises the entireprimary system with an electricallyheated core, major parts of the secondarysystem and the most importantoperational and safety systems of a1,300MWe PWR. It has been used forresearch into topical safety issues inPWR technology for almost 25 years.Excellent Performance bySiemens' BWR PlantsSiemens-built BWR nuclear powerplants again posted excellent performanceresults in 2000. The six BWRplants currently in operation inGermany generated a total of morethan 50,100 GWh of electricity.34 Advanced Nuclear Power 08/2001 08/2001 Advanced Nuclear Power 35